We The Kings Japan Tour 2026
Thursday/Friday 6/25/26 – 6/26/26
Leaving out today for a base tour in Japan with We The Kings. Have an early 6:05 AM flight out of Nashville where I’ll be meeting up with lead singer Travis Clark. Flight is on time and I meet Travis at the gate. We are flying in to Detroit for our connection to Tokyo. We will be meeting up with other band and crew members Coley “Cole” O’Toole, Charles “Chuck” Trippy, Sebastian “Seb” Quintero, and Tony Cataliano. All of our flights arrive on time with no delays. The remaining members, Chris “Shaggy” Asher, Mathew “Matt” Florio, and Ryan Folden, will be flying in to Tokyo out of California. So far everyone is on time, but there are 2 typhoons headed for Japan which may cause delays leaving for Tokyo. None of our flights get delayed and we are off to a good start. We have a 13 1/2 hour flight out of Detroit and the group out of California will be arriving in Tokyo a couple hours ahead of us.
Everyone makes it to Tokyo on Friday and our driver Dennis meets us at arrivals to take us to Camp Zama. It’s only a 21 mile drive but takes about 2 hours due to traffic. Once we make it to the base we are met by our MWR contact Randy Benson and he gets us checked in to our lodging. After getting into our rooms we walk across the road to get dinner at the sports bar. It’s been a long day for everyone and we are looking forward to getting some sleep. I hit the bed around 9:30 and fall asleep rather quickly. Usually this is the end of the story, but at 10:30 somebody is shaking me awake. At first I thought it was my dog, Harley. This can’t be because I’m not at home. Then I think someone is in my room and I jump up swinging. That’s when my phone starts going crazy. It wasn’t my dog and not someone in my room, it’s an earthquake. The shaking lasted about 7 or 8 seconds and I just lay in bed and watch. Honestly I thought it was really cool. I’ve always wanted to experience one and now I can check that off the list.
Saturday 6/27/26
Today is the first show and the venue is outdoors. Of course it’s been raining ever since we arrived in Japan. This is always the problem with having the show outdoors. The rain is supposed to clear by the time the show starts but it means the crew and production company has to get set up in the rain. It takes them a little longer and are running behind due to the weather. They are eventually ready for sound check at 2:00, but don’t have much time left before the gates open at 3:00. Just as we’re about to start, the color guard lines up in front of the stage to rehearse. By the time they got done the band only had about 20 minutes left for sound check. They were able to get done what they needed to do, but not ideal.
Show time is at 7:00 with a meet and greet beforehand with Commanding General Dooghan and his wife and Command Sergeant Major Langley at 6:00. After a nice conversation with them we meet with the people who won spots for the meet and greet. Originally there were supposed to be 75, but due to weather only a handful showed up. The weather deterred a lot of people and vendors from coming out, but still had a few thousand for the festival.
The show starts on time and the band sounds great. I take a few pictures and go to grab me a quick bite for dinner. I make it about 30 yards from the stage and get a message that we need a medic to the stage for Coley. I don’t know what’s going on and run back to the stage. Coley is behind the stage in a lot of pain. He had slipped on stage during the performance due to the wet stage and fell on his shoulder. We get him to the medics tent and they think he dislocated his shoulder. They suggest he goes to a hospital and call an ambulance from the base to take us to a local hospital. They inform us that he will have to pay for his treatment at the hospital. I’m thinking this is going to cost thousands, ambulance ride, hospital visit, etc. This is not the case. There is no charge for the ambulance ride and the medical services are very inexpensive. It does however take about half an hour trying to find the correct facility to take him to. Things work a little differently in Japan. There is not really an ER like back in the states. We have to find a hospital with an orthopedic doctor on staff that evening. We find one about 10 minutes away and I ride with Coley to the hospital along with one of the medics from the base who can translate for us. Once we arrive the process is fairly quick and inform him he has to have surgery. My mom and Shaggy have already been coordinating to get his flight changed to get him back as soon as possible. After the examination and we’re ready to check out there is complications for payment. They are saying we can’t pay the full bill until Monday, which will not work because he is getting on a plane tomorrow to fly home. Also we leave for Camp Fuji on Monday. After a few phone calls they get it worked out and we head back to the base. By the time we arrive everything is coordinated to get him home tomorrow. It’s 10:00 pm and the band and crew need to eat. Randy takes them off base to eat and I have a blueberry muffin for dinner in my room and go to bed.
Sunday 6/28/26
We have the day off today. Coley will be leaving at 9:00 to go to Tokyo for his flight. Travis, Shaggy, and I are going to play golf at the golf course on base. The rest of the group plan on heading in to Tokyo for sight seeing.
Our tee time is at 8:15. Travis and Shaggy are only going to play 9 holes and then meet up with the rest of the group to go to Tokyo. The course at Camp Zama is beautiful. It’s the top rated military course in the Pacific region. It rains on us for about the first 5 holes, but that happens sometimes. After 9 Travis and Shaggy leave and I finish up the last 9. Coley made it to the airport in plenty of time. I feel bad for him having to fly that long with his shoulder out of place. Going to make that long plane ride feel much longer. After I get done playing I was going to play another round but the rain is moving in again. I decide to go back to lodging and get some rest, still not adjusted to the time. After yesterday’s issues, having an uneventful day was nice.
Monday 6/29/26
Today is a travel day and we will be leaving Camp Zama and going to Camp Fuji. Randy picks us up at 7:30 and takes us to the golf course restaurant for breakfast. This is a much better option than the breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we have some down time before our transportation arrives at 10:00 to take us to Camp Fuji.
Pon Setabuta arrives with the bus on time and we start the 2 hour drive to Camp Fuji. The scenery is beautiful on our drive. We drop off the equipment at the Roadhouse bar and get checked in to lodging. This is a fairly small base with not much to do. Shaggy meets with the production company to go over some preliminary details. I grab some food and walk back to lodging. As I’m walking back I see Shaggy and Tony about a hundred yards ahead of me walking down the road back to lodging. They are stopped by the military police and told not to walk in the road and then he stops at me for the same thing. We’re told we should be on the other side of the fence, which is actually part of the airfield. This is different than when I was here last year. Rules must have changed. I would have never guessed that we were supposed to be on the airfield, but ok. I make it back to lodging and most of the other group has left base to go Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall. Pon has arranged transportation there and back for them. I spend the rest of the day taking advantage of the down time to relax.
Tuesday 6/30/26
Today is show #2. I’m still not quite adjusted to the time difference and I’m up at 4:30. This is good because the best time to see Mt. Fuji is early in the morning. By 6:00 the cloud cover has moved in and completely covered it up. I see a few of the other guys are up too getting pictures. Breakfast is served at lodging starting at 6:00. It’s pretty decent, they have breakfast burritos, sandwiches, and make your own waffles. I go for the burrito, it’s really good. After breakfast I have some down time for a few hours and try to get a little more sleep. The crew are meeting the production company at 9:30 to start setting up. Pon has arranged a couple of unit visits for the band and picks us up at 10:00. Our first stop is at the armory. The guys there weren’t really expecting us, but they have a few weapons set out a 240, a M16, and a M4. They go through the procedures for breaking them down for cleaning and reassembly. Travis gets to break down the 240 and reassemble. He does a pretty good job. After we’re done Pon ask if they want any pictures with the band and they politely decline. Marine Damien Hare is very honest and says he has never heard of them. All of these guys are very young, late teens, early 20”s. No offense taken and we move on to the next stop. We go and check out some of the vehicles they have on base. We spend about 45 minutes here and the guys really enjoy checking everything out. By this time the band needs to head over to the venue for sound check.
After sound check we have a couple of hours before show time and we head back to lodging to rest up. I have to go in to the exchange and get some NyQuil, I have been feeling like crap since about 4:00. The crew leaves for the venue around 6:00 and the band will wait until 6:30. There is not really a green room at the venue. The band will hang out in the van until show time. We decide to push the show time 15 minutes to allow more people to arrive. This is a small base so not expecting a large turn out, there are about 70 people in attendance. Show starts at 7:15, but this is not a very energetic audience. Travis tries to get the audience motivated, but everyone seems very comfortable at their tables. Not sure if it’s because we’re performing for marines but they seem pretty stiff. The show goes good and we do the meet and greet after. There are about 30 people in line and it goes smooth. Immediately after the meet and greet I walk back to lodging. I feel horrible and am ready for my NyQuil and bed. I take a double dose to try and kill whatever is coming over me. I do not want to feel sick for the remainder of the tour.
Wednesday 7/1/26
We have another travel day today. I’m up early again and make a waffle for breakfast and then rest up before our bus arrives to pick us up at 10:00. At 9:15 Spike Uchino texts me and says he is here. He’s 45 minutes early and no one is ready. Some guys are still at the gym. I let Spike know that it’s still going to be 10:00 before we’re ready to leave. At 10:00 we depart for Yokota Air Base. It’s not very far mileage wise, but still takes about 2 hours to get there. 30 miles in Tokyo is way different than traveling 30 miles in the US. We arrive around noon and get processed in to get on base. Spike gets us to lodging and has provided transportation to the nearest train station for the guys to go back in to Tokyo. When we arrive at lodging we meet up with our other contact, Vygintas “VG” Kunigenas. Only one room is ready and I make sure Travis gets it as he is not feeling well either. I walk from lodging to get some lunch while I’m waiting on a room. I finally get a room at 2:45 and just hang out there and relax. I’ve been in contact with Henry Archer who is Chely Wrights nephew. He is stationed at Yokota and will be meeting me around 4:30. Henry arrives and he takes me to the base exchange. After a quick stop at the exchange we drive over to play the par 3 course on base. It’s a pretty small course, but it’s still an opportunity to get some golf in. We were going to try and make it out to Tama Hills Golf and Resort to play, but it would have been too much to try and fit in. Tama hills is a course affiliated with the base and our friend George DeGrella is the GM there. I’ve been in touch with George since I arrived at Yokota and we will meet up before the show tomorrow. George just arrived back from the US today. After me and Henry get done playing golf he takes me back to lodging. When I arrive back at lodging I check my messages and find out my WhatsApp account has been locked out. I’m not sure why this has happened and the only thing I can do is submit it for review. This is not good because it’s been my main source of communication with my contacts here. Hopefully I will have a response soon. I’m ready for dinner and then get some sleep.
Thursday 7/2/26
Today will be show #3. I’m up at 7:30 and walk over to the Route 16 diner for breakfast. Thankfully it’s a short walk from lodging as it’s raining again. This is the theme for this trip, rain, rain, and more rain. The show will be outdoors but this time it’s a permanent stage that is well sheltered. This is good for the band. The crew will have to set up in the rain again. As typical for this trip it looks like the rain will end before show time. VG picks the crew up and takes them to the stage at 9:30 to meet the production company. The band is scheduled for an AFN radio interview at 11:00. VG informs me that this has been pushed back until after sound check. The next lobby call will be at 1:00. I grab a pizza for lunch before lobby call. Spike is on time and we all head over to stage which is on the other side of the base. The rain has pretty much stopped at this point but the crew is soaked. Sound check goes good and Spike takes the band back across base for the radio interview. Me and spike drop of the band a run to the express mart to grab Travis a couple of Red Bulls. After the interview we ride over to the food court to get them some lunch. We agreed to get it to go as we don’t have a lot of time left before show time. Me and Spike wait on the bus for about 20 minutes. I go inside to check on them and they’re all sitting down eating. So much for getting it to go. They’ve just finished eating and I head back to the bus. I sit there for another 20 minutes before I go back to check on them. Now they’ve all gone upstairs to the base exchange. We eventually get loaded back up on the bus and head back to the stage. By this time it’s about 30 minutes until show time. Despite the wet conditions the are still 5-600 people. George lets me know he’s here and I track him down. It’s been 6 or 7 years since we’ve seen each other. I’m very happy to see him. He’s a really good guy. While we’re catching up, I’m talking to him about Henry. I explain about my WhatsApp issues and that was my only way to contact him. Then speak of the devil, Henry walks up. I introduce them to each other. I take Henry and introduce him to Spike and VG. We locate where George is sitting and the show starts. I have to leave George and Henry to walk around and get pictures.
The show is going great. The crowd is much more energetic and there are a lot of families in attendance. Travis is really good with the kids in the audience and has them really involved in the performance. I bounce back and forth taking pictures and hanging out with George and Henry as much as possible. After the we are doing a meet and greet and I offer to introduce George and Henry to the band. Both politely decline. George is still jet lagged and ready to get some sleep. Henry admits that he’s not familiar with the band and is ready to head out. There ends up being about a hundred people in line for the meet and greet which ends up taking almost an hour and a half to finish. Travis is also very personable with the people when it’s their turn which takes a little longer but it’s good for the fans. Once the meet and greet is over it’s back to lodging. We fly out to Iwakuni tomorrow for the last show.
Friday 7/3/26
Our flight leaves later this afternoon to MCAS Iwakuni. I’m up early to meet George for breakfast at Route 16 diner at 7:30. We have more time than last night to relax and catch up. After breakfast I get George to swing me by the express exchange so I don’t have to walk in the rain again. He gets me back to lodging and we say our goodbyes. It’s always good getting to see him.
Our flight doesn’t leave until 4:55 this afternoon and have to check out around 11:00 because of the drive time back to Tokyo and the amount of gear we have to check. Everyone is on time to lobby call and we start the 2 hour drive to the airport. We arrive around 1:00 and start the check in process. Spike is with us to help and has other entertainment arriving at the airport today. Check in takes almost an hour with the amount of bags and gear we have to check. This process goes a lot better with Spike being there. It would have been rough without him. We have a couple hours until we board. Everyone thanks Spike and we head back through security. Only had one issue with Mathew. He had some expensive files in his carry on that they wouldn’t let through. I tried to get him to get a ticket for them and we could pick them up when we return in a couple of days. He didn’t want to have to deal with it and just let security take them.
We depart on time and arrive in Iwakuni at 6:30 and are met by our contact Nia Wilson. We load up on the bus and make the 5 minute drive to lodging. Everything we need is right next to lodging on this base. This is good because of course it’s raining. I’ve seen enough rain in this trip to last the rest of the year. We have the rest of the day off to relax.
Saturday 7/4/26
Happy 250th America!! Last show today and it’s raining again. Fortunately someone made a smart call yesterday to move the show indoors. Other than physically loading in to the venue, the crew should stay dry today. Shaggy meets the production company at 9:00 to go over things before they setup. The schedule has changed a bit because of the decision to move indoors. We get the crew over to the venue at noon to get ready. The band will arrive at 2:00 for sound check.after sound check, Nia gets the food order in for after the show. Me, Shaggy, and Ryan go ahead and get our meals now for lunch. I barely have time to eat mine because meet and greet had to be moved to 5:00 before the show. This will be a first come first serve as we only have 30 minutes. There is quite a long line and unfortunately we had to cut people out. Really don’t like doing that, but we can’t push the show back. The band needs 30 minutes to get ready and fireworks are scheduled immediately after the show.
I was a little concerned about how many people would show up for the show tonight due to the last minute changes with the schedule and the fact that the fireworks show is on the other side of the base. It was good to see that 3/4 off the 1000 seat theater is full. The crowd is very energetic and having a great time. Mid way through the show, Travis has the kids in the audience join him on stage for a song. This is my favorite moment of all the tours I’ve done. Literally the coolest thing I’ve seen. Travis asked me earlier in the day about how to do more of these tours for the military. Moments like that will get you back everytime. After getting the kids back down safely, they knocked the rest of the show out of the park. This has been a great tour and could not have been a better way to end it. With all the changes to the schedule, crappy weather the entire time and losing one of the band members, these guys killed it. Very sad that Coley couldn’t have been here to be a part of it all. They definitely ended with a bang.
Nia has the food ready for the guys immediately after the show and we go next door to Club Iwakuni to eat. We also have roof access to be able to see the fireworks. The view is cool but it’s quite cloudy, but not raining thank god. After the fireworks we head back to lodging and the guys go out for drinks to celebrate the end of a great tour. I go to lodging and get ready for the long travel day tomorrow.
Sunday 7/5/26
Traveling home today. It’s going to end up being a little over 24 hours start to finish to get home. I go to Club Iwakuni and have a big hearty breakfast to get fueled up for the day. We are heading out a little earlier than scheduled and everyone makes it to lobby call on time. The airport is tiny with only one gate and I’m expecting check in to take a while because of all the bags and equipment we have to check. We arrive and start the check in process which turns into a nightmare. We had 2 bags per person for the band and crew and we had no problems getting here, but leaving is a different story. The ladies at the counter can’t figure out how we got there with no extra baggage fees because everyone is only allowed 1 bag to check. This causes them problems and we finally figure out that most of the guys have status with Delta that allows an extra bag to be checked. This helps a lot, but some bags are over weight as well. We go back and forth with the agents and from what I gather they are trying to figure out why we didn’t have to pay anything to get here. It seems they’re trying every option to not make us pay like they’re the ones making the mistake.after almost 2 hours trying to check in almost time to start boarding. We finally get them to charge us for the excess and get the last receipt 10 minutes before we board. This was an extremely frustrating process and very glad Nia was there to help. I personally was about to lose it. We say goodbye to Nia and thank her for the help and hospitality. We basically get through security and walk straight on to the plane. Not a good start for a long travel day.
We arrive in Tokyo on time. We have to stop at baggage storage to pick up Coleys guitar that we checked before we left for Iwakuni. Most of the guys bags were able to beck checked all the way through to their final destination. Me, Shaggy, Ryan, and Travis have to grab our bags and recheck at the Delta counter. Since only a few of us have bags we decide to catch the shuttle bus to the international terminal instead of the monorail. We make it to the Delta counter and get the rest of the baggage checked with no issues. Mathew has right at an hour before he boards and everyone says good bye and safe travels home. I thought I had about 3 hours but it’s only about an hour and a half before I board. I swing by the 7-11 and grab 2 ham sandwiches and some snacks. We say goodbye to Shaggy and Ryan who are going through Honolulu to Los Angeles. I thank them for their hard work and flexibility that made the tour go as smoothly as possible. The rest of us are all going to Detroit before we split. The plane is on time and will be a shorter flight than expected, right at 11 hours instead of the 13+ hour trip over. We all have at least a couple of hours before we leave to our final destinations. I make my way all the way to the opposite end of the terminal to grab some
Chick-fil- A. Made it all the way down there only to realize it’s Sunday and they’re closed. I decide to stop in Longhorns on my way back to the other end of the terminal. Halfway through my meal I’m informed that Seb’s flight is delayed and he will probably not make his last connection. I scarf down the rest of my food while I’m waiting on my check. His flight is departing out of gate A7 and Longhorns is at like gate A60 something. I’m not running but I get there as quick as possible. Seb has to make a decision to stay in Detroit or go on to Atlanta. He’s worried about not having his bags if he stays in Detroit and is trying to get help from Delta to keep his bags in Detroit. It’s so close to his boarding time that don’t think it will be possible. I advise him if he wants to be with his bags he needs to get on the plane to Atlanta. The help from the 1 Delta agent at the kiosk is a joke, but he uses the phone at the kiosk to talk with someone. He asks if it’s possible to stop his bags in Detroit and she puts him on hold. He is still on hold and I have about 10 minutes until my flight boards. I leave him my mom’s number and the travel agents number.and I wish him good luck. Mine and Travis’s flight to Nashville is on time and we make the short hour long flight home. Mom is able to pick me up and has me a sweet tea. We go to her house to get my dog and my car. I have a sweet tea and get to sleep in my bed with my loud fan tonight. I get home around midnight but it ends up being 2:30 before I can go to sleep. Gonna be a rough 2 days trying to readjust to the time before I have to go back to my real job on Wednesday.
This was a great tour, with a great bunch of guys!
